“Next Generation” describes security products that work on a different principle from traditional antivirus software. Some “NextGen” products may only provide logging and analysis of threats (useful for incident response), rather than actually protecting against them. In some cases, protection features are deactivated by default and have to be enabled and configured by the administrator before they can be used.

This report marks the first time AV-Comparatives has tested and included next-generation security products in a public comparative test report. We had reached out several leading vendors in this space, requesting their participation in the test. Unfortunately, a number of vendors refused to participate in this independent evaluation. Since their products could not be included in this public report, we are unable to approve them as valuable next-generation security products. We look forward to their future participation in independent tests.

The use of cloud-based management consoles for business security products is becoming more and more popular. These consoles have the advantage of being installation and maintenance-free, and don’t require additional company resources (such as a server) to operate. They require no further on-premise security measures, such as firewall configuration, and work equally well on devices inside and outside the company LAN – a significant advantage in the era of mobile computing and an obvious benefit for companies with mobile or remote workforces.

Storage systems are becoming more and more important, especially with big data. From small local firms to big global players, companies need data to be available fast but also reliably and securely. Read more here.